Ingress now available for iOS

If you aren’t already aware of Ingress, it’s a virtual Augmented Reality game developed by the Niantic Project. The application installed on your phone acts as a “scanner” which allows you to see mysterious energy (known as Exotic Matter or XM in game) which has been discovered by a team of scientists in Europe. You can interact with Portals and create control fields which will add to your team’s global Mind Units (MU) score. Simply, it’s a capture the flag type game between two teams which fight for portals (points of interest) and the highest global MU count. It’s played out on a 1:1 scale meaning you need to get up off your chair and walk (or ride) around.

The game has been hugely popular since it’s inception in November of 2012. However, it’s only been available for those sporting Android phones. Today, Niantic announced that the game is now available on iOS. You’ll be able to download the game for free and join your preferred faction (The Enlightened or The Resistance). Be warned, since the app relies heavily on a data connection and GPS, you’ll most likely need to carry around several battery packs to keep you going.